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For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

About the Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation has promoted excellence and ethics in journalism. The SDX Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and serves the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Excellence in Journalism 2017Sept 7-9, 2017 – Anaheim

Excellence in Journalism is the national journalism conference of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Join us in September in Anaheim for training, networking, workshops and more!

SPJ Leads

SPJ News

SPJ Blogs: Newest Posts

Quill Headlines

Journalist's Toolbox

@SPJ_Tweets

Connect with SPJ

SPJ on Facebook

Upcoming Eventsand Deadlines

Become an SPJ Member

For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

About the Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation has promoted excellence and ethics in journalism. The SDX Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and serves the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Excellence in Journalism 2017Sept 7-9, 2017 – Anaheim

Excellence in Journalism is the national journalism conference of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Join us in September in Anaheim for training, networking, workshops and more!

Diversity CommitteeOn both chapter and national levels, SPJ provides an open forum for the discussion of diversity issues in journalism. This committee's purpose is to promote a broader voice in newsrooms across the country and expand the depth and quality of news reports through better sourcing. Its ongoing project is the compilation of experts — primarily women, gays and lesbians, people of color and people with disabilities — through the Society's Diversity Source Book. The Society's relevance to its member is based on inclusiveness.

To journalists, its often strong test scores, low drop-out rates or the
tax dollars a school gets.

But ask ordinary people and you might get some very different ideas. For instance:
Is my kid learning? Will the principal return my phone call? How does the school
deal with bullies? And is the school a real third place, a gathering
spot for the community?

Journalists look for things to measure. Ordinary people look for things they
value.

Journalists who dont probe for the real meaning behind labels risk writing
about subjects in ways that have no relevance or connection to their readers,
listeners and viewers. They may be covering the news  but are in danger
of missing the real story.

A good primer on civic mapping is the Pew Centers workbook, Tapping Civic Life: How to Report First, and Best, Whats Happening in Your Community, which was prepared by The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. (E-mail news@pccj.org for a free copy.)

So how can we journalists better link the more traditional thresholds for a
news story with what our increasingly diverse communities value as important?

In many cases, we have to get smarter. And that often means we have to talk
to new types of people  those with day-to-day knowledge about an
issue, not simply formal expertise. We have to talk to them in new places, ask
them some different questions and engage them differently.

This will require developing new reflexes. But the payoff is huge. Well
end up with a vastly more diverse source list, new definitions of news
and ultimately some new relationships with our audiences.

A good place to start is with civic mapping, a simple and systematic
way of diversifying our Rolodexes. Heres an overview:

 Start with newsroom conversations. Identify your pre-conceived notions
about a community of interest. Put them up on the wall.
 Collect the names of known community leaders  the officials and quasi-officials.
 Ask them this important question: Whom do they seek out to get news and
information about the community?
 Collect names they give you. These will generally fall into a couple of
categories: Catalysts, the go-to people who often get things done
but may not carry a title. And connectors, the civic bumblebees
who pollinate many different groups  Scouts, sports teams, PTAs, health
clubs, church groups  imparting information.
 Find out where people hang out  the diner or donut shop, the barbershop
or swim club  the third place where people talk informally
about their communities.
 Hit the streets and start interviewing these folks and visiting these places.

Ask Different Questions
Initially, you need to have a conversation rather than conduct an interview.
What things do they hold valuable? What do they aspire do? What do they mean
by the buzzwords they use? Did they mean what you thought they meant?

Give people some space to try on some different answers. Let them
figure out which one best fits. This will ensure that you, as a journalist,
really capture how they feel.

Test your stereotypes and pre-conceived notions in these conversations. Where
are you off base? Where are the internal tensions more important than the external
conflicts?

Ultimately you will start to hear patterns  and its the patterns
that will give you your story.

Jan Shaffer is executive director of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism.

Diversity CommitteeOn both chapter and national levels, SPJ provides an open forum for the discussion of diversity issues in journalism. This committee's purpose is to promote a broader voice in newsrooms across the country and expand the depth and quality of news reports through better sourcing. Its ongoing project is the compilation of experts — primarily women, gays and lesbians, people of color and people with disabilities — through the Society's Diversity Source Book. The Society's relevance to its member is based on inclusiveness.